Sound supervisor Oliver France installed the equipment at the Cactus TV studio in conjunction with facility providers, Roll To Record, following a fast-track contract to develop the brownfield site (a former polystyrene depot). Oliver confirmed that Nigel Gates had long been an advocate of Trantec radio mics. "And on occasions when I have used them I have found them to give a good performance at a good price - which is an unbeatable combination. Certainly they have never let us down."
The system has been supplied with both passive and active antenna distribution units and two ground plane antenna, with the aerials positioned at the back of the set. Oliver reports that while there are no range problems within the facility, the system had to be robust, citing shows such as Big Brother where radio systems come in for rough handling. "They are also subjected to fast turnarounds, so they have to be able to stand up to manhandling and dropping."
With Trantec that attribute is a given - but there are other features that Oliver France was quick to latch onto. "It’s very easy to change channels on the S5000; they also take a standard PP3 battery, which is useful, and I like the LCD which provides a snapshot of the battery power." He added that the LCD readout of the gain output and frequency made monitoring far easier than having to read a tiny dial.
(Lee Baldock)
